Cavs add Ed Davis for vet presence, and sign Justin James via camp deal

With the Cleveland Cavaliers 2021-22 season around the corner, they look to be making the finishing touches to their squad, like other clubs.

Recently, the Cavaliers waived big Mfiondu Kabengele and guard/wing Brodric Thomas on Tuesday, to that point. Thomas had previously been signed to another two-way deal, as he had last season with Cleveland, whereas Kabengele was signed previously via multi-year deal before, but it was non-guaranteed following last season.

Both appeared to be long shots to stick around to me, as Kabengele didn’t seem to have a role, and with Thomas, I’d have thought Cleveland could look to have more of a perimeter shooting presence/movement shooter for further development via two-way. And Kabengele with one of the other two-ways, with him being a tweener that’s still a ways away, doesn’t seem likely.

Moving past those two being cut, Cleveland made two other minor moves on Wednesday, as stated by general manager Koby Altman. Cleveland signed big Ed Davis via one-year, non-guaranteed deal and added guard/wing Justin James to their training camp roster, of which you can view more on per the details in the team release below.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com also reported how Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff vouched for the Davis add, given Davis’ track record as being a terrific locker room/leadership presence.

The Davis signing, as Fedor expressed, was for the leadership element, and as far as James, he’ll get some of a chance to make an impression for a potential two-way.

Simply put, it’s hard to foresee Davis, who has historically been a 5, but has been limited offensively, having a role regularly. Quite frankly, I’d have thought Tacko Fall, prior to Davis’ signing, could be a more viable even spot minutes depth 5, whereas he could seemingly be a two-way candidate now.

The 32-year-old Davis, who appeared in 23 games last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 2.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per appearance, has bounced around in his career, and has played with seven teams across 11 seasons.

He has been a very productive rebounder, and still can make a difference in that way if he were to play at times, aid the team as a screener, and can help on the defensive interior. But clearly, with the likes of Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and others involved, this was for the locker room element, based on Fedor’s report/comments above.

Davis has reportedly been an exemplary teammate throughout his career, and he can help the Cavs in that realm/as a leadership presence, with how they are a pretty young team. Of course, Ricky Rubio, especially based on Darius Garland’s comments at Media Day, will make a difference in that regard, and his on-floor/playmaking abilities will lead to him being a key contributor off the bench still.

That said, while I wouldn’t expect him to contribute much on the floor, with the others involved, this Cavs signing of Davis, if he does stick around, to some degree, wasn’t about that.

One can take how you will, however, I guess I do understand it, with the team looking to take the next step. And Davis’ previous postseason experiences with the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers and Brooklyn Nets can help from a behind-the-scenes standpoint.

So, from there, regarding the other signing from Cleveland on Wednesday, James can perhaps be a player that could have a shot at being a developmental guy/two-way signing.

Cleveland does now have both of their two-way slots left, and maybe the 6-foot-7 James makes his case for one of them in camp. James, who spent his first two seasons with the Sacramento Kings, the club that selected him in the second round in 2019, played sparingly last season, averaging 3.9 points in 8.6 minutes per appearance in 36 games. He was waived by the Utah Jazz, who had a brief tenure with prior to this.

He could have some potential as a perimeter scorer to further develop, as he did have his share of moments over his four-year collegiate career at Wyoming, where he averaged 18.9 and 22.1 points per outing in his junior and senior seasons. He is a bouncy athlete that can really make things happen in the open floor and can get to the rim in set offense at times, but the shot is streaky.

As we alluded to, though, these two moves on Wednesday from the Cavs were very minor, by and large. If Davies does stick around for some portion of next season, though, that’s pretty meaningful for the young guys, I’d assume.